, aides president obama promise he will be more aggressive as he faces mitt romney. polls show romney was the clear winner in the last debate. the president is in williamsburg virginia, and romney is in massachusetts. be sure to stay with abc 7 complete coverage of the second presidential debate. we will bring it to you live on c-spanstarting at 9:00 p.m.. >> the number of people affected by the meningitis outbreak has reached 235. the death toll stands at 15. a 15th case was reported in maryland yesterday. several people in virginia have been effected. it has been linked to steroid shots used for back pain and into a specialty pharmacy and massachusetts. the medicine has been recalled. >> a deadly shooting at a house party in pasadena, maryland. police arrested two men, charged with killing one man and wounding another man sitting outside a house early yesterday morning. police are still investigating the shooting and are asking witnesses to come forward. >> three different fires in our area over the last 24 hours. one woman is in the hospital. dozens of others are without their home. th

post debate campaigning, the poll numbers clearly have now shifted in mitt romney's favor. in the new national poll out from the pew research center, governor romney is now tied with the president. romney trailed in this survey by 9 points before the debate. so that's a big shift toward mitt romney and away from barack obama in that poll. like wise in the new gallup poll, mr. romney polled even with the president after the debate erasing a 5-point advantage for the president. we have new polls from the swing states and near swing states. polls that include reaction to the first debate. in wisconsin today the president leads by just two points. that's according to a relatively left-leaning poll. that particular poll previously showed the president having a 7-point lead before the debate. in colorado, in one right-leaning poll romney is now up by 3 points. the same showed him losing by 5 before the debate. now he's up by 3. in virginia, the president is ahead by 3 in virginia. that same poll had the president's lead at 5 points before the debate. that shows the president's lead shrinkin

last week's debate. the real clear politics average of all polls show mitt romney taking a .7% lead on president obama. the race was this tight a month ago. right after the republican national convention and right before the democratic national convention. we have been here before. the race has followed this pattern for awhile. when mitt romney makes gain, the polls tend to show the candidates tied. but if you listen to right-wingers like ann colter, this race is already over. >> i think it is over. the reason i think it's over, of course, i thought it was over last week and the week before. romney is going to win. the reason he's going to win is this was the most-watched debate since 1980 when ronald reagan ran against carter and there was only one debate that year. >> fox news is pulling out all the stops. check out the electoral prediction map fox trotted out today. look at the red states. they gave mitt romney solid democratic states like new mexico and pennsylvania. really? polls should be a snapshot of the current state of the race and there's no doubt mitt romney is benefitti

. >>> there's your bounce, the pew poll propels mitt romney. >>> kentucky derby, all eyes turn to the bluegrass state. how much pressure faces paul ryan. and this morning, former penn state football coach jerry sandusky finds out if he'll spend the rest of his life in prison on 45 counts of child sex abuse, he already put out a taped statement denying it all. we'll have the latest from the courthouse as soon as it happens. it is happening within minutes there in pennsylvania. >>> good morning from washington, it's four weeks until election day, tuesday, october 10. will romney serve in national polling translate into gains where it really matters t battleground states, the mimpb battleground states of iowa, wisconsin and ohio. romney will not be president unless he can put these states in play. in a new pew poll conducted since wednesday. just last month in the same poll, romney trailed by eight points. driving romney surge, a spike in republican enthusiasm, more republicans made it through pew's likely voter screen than democrats. and a larger group of registered voters, the candidat

romney campaign. new polling in battleground states tonight, the latest cnn/orc survey in ohio done entirely after the first debate, now showing a four point obama lead. that's a statistical tie. it is a significant change from the seven to ten point lead the president enjoyed before the debate. new polling as well from sienna college that shows a statistical tie in pennsylvania. that's based on surveys done both before and after the debate and nationally in gallup's daily tracking poll which covers october 2nd through the 8th, mitt romney now holds a two point edge. today, gallup shifted from registered to likely voters, which tends to favor republicans. that said, though, it is hard to find any evidence, any evidence that president obama escaped denver without at least some damage. the only question being how severe and how long-lasting. that seems hard to dispute. just as it's hard to dispute that prior to the debate, mr. romney was getting hammered in the polls. keeping them honest though, disputing or downplaying the obvious, that's what campaigns do on both sides. >> it's not

. meanwhile, a new pew research poll shows romney leading by 4 points. this race is tightening. things are moving, gist like mitt romney. suddenly he loves covering people with pre-existing conditions and suddenly mr. romney is ignoring the fact that his tax plan is a give away to the rich. the only problem, that's not the mr. romney who's running for president and this weekend newt gingrich, one of his top surrogates let the cat out of the bag. >> standing on the stage with you in arizona, this is what mitt romney said. number one, i said today we're going to cut taxes on everyone across the country by 20%, including the top 1%. mr. speaker, you mentioned that your opponent, mitt romney, had a problem with being dishonest and the primary of my question is, was he dishonest when he said that? >> i think it's clear he changed. >> clearly he's changed. another romney surrogate even admitted it. >> that's all you're seeing here. it's very typical. we we strong conservatives understand that. it's campaign strategy. >> it's typical. just campaign strategy. that's all you're seeing h

. among likely voters. romney trailed by eight points earlier in month in that poll. we look at the poll numbers and all the important electoral college count in just a few moments. but first, governor romney says the president's global vision puts american national security at risk. chief political correspondent carl cameron has specifics. >> at the virginia military institute in measured tone, mitt romney wants his toughest critique yet of obama foreign policy. >> america security and cause of freedom cannot afford four more years like the last four years. >> romney said hope is not a strategy. administration policy weakened the u.s. and its allies while emboldening the enemies. >> with iran closer than ever to nuclear weapons capability with the conflict in syria threatening to destabilize the region and with violent extremists on the march, and with an american ambassador and three others dead, likely at the hands of al-qaeda affiliates, it's clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the president took office. >> romney ripped the administration initial an

presidential history? the answer appears to be simple and obvious. the polls show that governor romney overwhelmingly one the presidential debate, by a historical margin. the impact of his victory is driving governor romney's poll numbers radically higher. this brand-new poll from the pew research center six ohs governor romney nationally jumping to a four-point lead over president obama. that represents a 12-point swing from just a month ago. and according to the new survey from the left leaning website, politico, governor romney extended his lead amongst independents. the republican nominee now leads president obama by 16 points in a key demographic. governor romney's lead there was only four points a week ago. parenthetically in 2008, president obama when the independent vote by eight points over john mccain. we will take all of that up here tonight with fox news senior political analyst, brit hume, congressional candidate mia love and the a-team tonight is brad blakeman, judith miller, and james freeman. the obama white house is caught up in a torrent of questions about its respons

number. new polls have said romney is enjoying a post debate bounce. the average of national polls this week put him in the lead for the first time. with the run can candidate also gaining ground among key voting groups and in some important swing states. is the surge real and what can mitt romney do to sustain it? for answers we turn to republican pollster witt, ayer. a couple weeks back before the debate when the republicans thought it was over, you were saying, no, this race is a lot closer. where does it stand now? >> thank you, paul. that was a pretty easy call. [laughter] >> today if you look at the effect of the debate, it's pretty significant. i'm talking about the first presidential debate. >> right. >> in the eight polls that were released in the week immediately before the debate, obama had a lead of 3.6 percentage points on average. in the seven polls that had been released so far in the week after the debate, romney has an average lead of 1.3 percentage points. that's a net turnaround of about 5 percentage points, which is very significant in race this close. there are some

helped mitt romney. that is the realityhat is beginning to set in scores of new polls show governor romney now taking control of this race. gallop poll of likely vothers ha governor romney with a two point lea over the president nationally, and pew polling with a 4 point lead, and wiping out the president's 18 points september advantage with women. the two candidates are now tied at 47% with female voters. public policy polling today they left leaning polling has governor romney with a 2. lead nationally, the first time that gov hegovernor had a lead in thl all year, and rasmussen report, average of poll rults with 11 swing states, including florida, michigan, ohio and pennsylvania, shows goverr romney up on the presiden49 to 47%. resident obama has held the lead in poll for 17 of previous 19 days, that is all changed. we take all of that up here tonight. we'll talk with republican national committee communication director shawn spicer, wall street legend, louis lehrman, and fdic chair sheila baiis joining us, our first guest said that republican ground game, is beginning to show im

the united states. >> reporter: new polls show this race is tightening. romney is ted to be leading 49% to the president's 48%. while politico finds romney ahead 50-48%. the real clear politics average of several polls puts the polls at 47% for each candidate with only .1% difference. experts now say there is no room for debate mistakes. >> they are being taught that, in sessions right as we speak. >> reporter: presidential historian steven hess of the brookings institution served in both the nixon and eisenhower terms. he said president obama must appear more engaged. >> he has to work against that. that is very important for him. that is the easiest thing to do, is not show up the way he showed up in denver. >> reporter: hess said mitt romney has now raised expectations. >> now the shoe is on the other food and now he has to worry about living up to expectations and the next day's story is not just obama did better. >> reporter: and with the race so tight, both campaigns are facing the second debate which could hold either promise or pitfalls. now out of one particular matter, bot

sentenced this morning. >>> debate bound, mitt romney erasing president obama's lead. this is a new poll. a major shift on women voters as well. an an injection of enthusiasm. we go inside the numbers with four weeks left. >>> and biggest jump ever. one man, literally falling from the edge of outer space, 23 miles straight down on purpose. why? and will he make it? >>hat is the question. why? what is the craziest thing you've ever done. >> it's not jumping 23 miles straight down from outer space. that's a high bar. >> i can't wait to talk to him and find out the why. >> it's nuts. good morning, thank you for joining us on "early start," i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. >>> jerry sandusky proclaims his innocence. in four wurhours, the former pe state football coach will be in court to find out his punishment. he is clearly defiant. >> they can take away my life, they can make me out as a monster, they could treat me as a monster but they can't take away my heart. in my heart, i know i did not do these alleged, disgusting acts. >> he takes no personal responsibility. he lays t

, there was this latest national pugh research poll. governor romney now holding a four point lead among likely voters who were surveyed after the debate. that is a big swing from mid september when president obama was ahead by eight. that was this afternoon, a short time ago, a poll running in the detroit free press shows the president's lead shrinking to just three points in michigan. mr. obama had a ten poernt lead there last month. mitt romney's running mate, paul ryan, is in michigan tonight addressing a rally at oakland university in the town of rochester just outside detroit. the question tonight, if the mood of voters is changing here, could it also be a sign that it's changing in ohio as well, another key battleground state. the poll in the free press and the pew poll not the only good news for the romney forces. they got a big boost as well in gallup's tracking poll which shows a 47-47 tie among likely voters contacted on the 4th through the 6th. in pre-debate polling, mr. obama, president obama, led by five. now, as for today's pew poll, the obama campaign takes issue with the

state. the new pew poll know shows governor romney ahead among likely voters. it's the latest dose of reality for the obama camp in a race that is evolving with only weeks left until election day. joining me for our daily fix, chris cizilla, msnbc contributor and managing editor o of postpolitics.com and mark halperin for "time" and msnbc. joining us from chicago. chris cizilla, first of all to you, the new polls certainly have given a great burst of energy to mitt romney's campaign. >> no question. i would say and we said this when there was polling that had president obama up eight, nine, ten points nationally, let's see where it sorts out at the end of the week or beginning of next week. if you are mitt romney, this is -- the pew poll yesterday was huge news because a lot of what happens here at the end and we are 28 days away, is momentum based. for folks who haven't made their mind up yet you want to look like you're the guy with the momentum. coming off the debate and the pew poll you now can make the case that mitt romney is the guy who is kind of the energy and enthusiasm c

that mitt romney is the guy who is kind of the energy and enthusiasm candidate. i think some polls will come out in places like ohio, virginia, north carolina, florida, hopefully some independent polls in the next few days that i think will get the measure of how much bounce mitt romney got. if those polls suggest him really closing the margin in those states then i think the romney campaign is really on to something. national polling is great and they're happy to have it, but really the problem they have had in the last six weeks, two months, is electoral vote in the swing states. they need those numbers to move. >> and we are going to have our nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist polls in florida, ohio, and virginia coming out first thing thursday morning. mark you're in chicago, which tells me you've probably been doing a lot of reporting. what are they saying at the obama headquarters? >> well, andrea, i came straight here from the headquarters where i sat down with some of the top officials on the campaign and talked through where we are today. and i want to state this carefu

commitment has never been stronger. ♪ >>> gallup's daily tracking poll puts mitt romney leading president obama 2% right now. gallup is one of dozens of polls published every week. the polls at a dizzying speed are enough to drive a person insane. no one, including myself can seem to look away. republicans question or rather freaked out over several polls released prior to the presidential debate with a sizable lead of president obama over mitt romney. >> that begs the question, are these polls dishonest? >> no. look, we endow them with a false scientific precision. >> these polls, i don't pay attention to them schblgt polling is good at saying how you are going to vote. it's bad how who is going to vote. the models are crazy. >> the two polls are designed to convince everybody the election is over. >> democrats engaged in polling earlier this week questioning the methodology of the poll put romney up four points over barack obama. both parties have a tortured emotional lelationship with polling. why do we continue to listen? more importantly, what are the polls actually telling

are definitely looking out for you. >> sean: mitt romney closes the gap and latest poll numbers fell. dick morris, ann coulter, the latest on romney's debate battle. >> just so everybody understands l critics slammed his performance. >> it's okay. >> no problem. >> tonight, setting the record straight. and an explosive details emerging about a campaign donor scandal that could and former un ambassador john bolton breaks down. >> the hope is not a strategy. we're 29 days from the election, hannity starts right here, right now. governor mitt romney's impressive performance at the presidential debate will go down in history as most decisive victory in history. and and there is a record-breaking 52 point margin, 72% think romney did a better job than president barack obama. and there is cause for polls as well, nationally and in battle ground states. begin with the latest survey. the governor now tied among registered voters and and three more days after the debate has to be counted. according to the pew research center poll, romney leads 49% to 45%. according to the brand new georg

about this. the debate hurt obama and helped romney, and romney's gotten a bump in the polls, although it seems to be flattening out. you look at the new poll in ohio, the president is at 51%, romney is at 47%. i think the president, the fundamental structure of the race hasn't been changed, but if he doesn't go on the attack, if biden doesn't do a good job against ryan, and if the president doesn't show up and isn't strong in the second debate, then you're going to have a tossup race. >> well, i would disagree with your approach, first of all. i don't approach it that way. that's going back and relegating all the old arguments. in spirit what i would do, unlike shrumy, i would take the big issue that is separating the candidates, don't get into the little trench warfare about what's your tax plan and where were you on medicare two weeks ago. i would say where did you stand on saving the american auto industry? you had one position, i had another position. where are you on equal pay? republicans are against equal pay by law. these are big differences. don't talk about big bird one more